An Unexpected Encounter
In Zootopia, life could be very hard for a predator. Especially a hard working one. But over time, hard work and staying strong through adversity can lead to something better when the bad times are over. It was the case with me too, especially during that one day I remember like yesterday. Yes, it´s me. Fabienne Growley. With Peter Moosebridge, I work as a news anchor on the ZNN news network. Every day, I bring out the news three times to the citizens of this city: during morning, during late afternoon and right before midnight. A long day at work every day for me. It has been hard for me at times too, especially when the Nighthowler crisis hit the city. When I brought the news to the city, deep inside I was severely worried that it might affect me or my loved ones too. The thoughts haunted me for a long time, and even some of my prey friends were afraid as well. I didn´t want to lose them. Thankfully, it all got better as the city hero Officer Judy Hopps saved the day. Not only was peace brought back to Zootopia, but it brought us closer as mammals. Prey and predator are now together peacefully. It´s fittingly symbolized by Hopps herself ending up with her partner, the fox Nick Wilde. I even befriended both of them. Whenever I saw them together, it reminded me of how I´ve felt a little lonely at times. During all the days full of work and stress, I wish I had someone I could share all my worries with. Something better than just a friend. However, it was about to change one day. Whenever I wasn't working in the news, I had some hobbies during my free time. Like many mammals in Zootopia, I too liked cosplaying. One of those kinds of events was taking place that day. Judy had arranged a group cosplay with all of her female friends, who´d be dressing up as famous princesses from fairy tales. There was a huge prize at a cosplay contest in the expo, and we all wanted to get it. It sounded ton of fun. All six of us had picked roles from the group. Judy herself would be Belle, her mother was Snow White, Mrs.Otterton would be Cinderella, Skye would be Ariel and the legendary popstar Gazelle as Jasmine. I was preparing for the role of Aurora myself. After enjoying my trout lunch at my Tundratown apartment, I went to get prepared in my dressing room. We were planning to meet at two o´clock, and then take a cab ride to the expo. A great day for us girls was ahead. But it would be even greater than I´d expect. In a few hours, I was ready in my dress and crown. After a long stroll, I was finally reaching our rendez-vous point near a train station, where we would take the upcoming train to the event. All the other cosplayers were already waiting there, looking fantastic in their costumes. Judy was just coming there too, escorted by her boyfriend himself. I always knew she´d make for a great Belle. "Have fun at the expo today, my beauty. Remember to take a lot of photos!" Nick waved as he waved at her before going his way. "We will, my beast. Ah, there you are. You all look lovely in your roles, we´re sure to win!" the rabbit smiled. I nodded optimistically. Despite taking a few cosplays before, I had never won any contest there though. Yet this time, I felt that we had a better chance together. All of us were among Zootopia´s most attractive female mammals in roles that emphasized that part well, so I had hopes for it. As we were about to go though, Gazelle noticed something as she scrolled through the news on her phone. "Oh no. The train ride to the expo is cancelled, since the train is under repairs. What´ll we do now?" she looked nervous. All of us looked concerned. We had to find a way there fast before the contest would start. "Should we order a taxi, perhaps?" Otterton asked, cleaning up dust off her Cinderella dress. "I don´t know, those take time too", Judy thought. Suddenly, a male black jaguar walked past us. He had been getting a soda from a vending machine near the parking lot, and was ready to head back to his car, but he noticed what was going on. "Uh...Excuse me, ladies, but could I be of assistance?" he asked. "Manchas!" Judy smiled, recognizing a familiar face. "You know this guy?" I asked. "Yes. I met him when I solved the Nighthowler case. He´s Mr Big´s limo driver", the rabbit explained. I shuddered a bit at the mention of the name. Big´s fearsome reputation was not unfamiliar to me. But this jaguar seemed quite nice and friendly so far, so I didn´t feel like I was in danger. "I´m just on my way home after taking my boss to a business meeting, yet I have spare time to take you there before bringing this car back. My car has enough space for all six of you", Manchas explained. "What say you?" Skye looked at us. Judy thought about it and decided. "Sure! Thanks Manchas, that´s really generous and gentlemanly of you", she said. "No problem", the jaguar said modestly. As he led us to the limo, I started to like this fellow more and more. He did seem like a real gentleman despite being associated with someone dangerous and unpredictable. "After you, ladies", Manchas opened the limo doors, letting all of us in. "We´re heading for the Zootopia Expo Center. Cosplay event, as you can tell by our costumes", I told. "Alright. Let´s go!" Manchas started the car. It didn´t take long until Manchas got us right into our destination. We made it there just in time, and he didn´t charge anything for it either. What a charming fellow he was. Such a simple and kind feline, and not bad looking either. He wished all of us a great day in the expo when he left. I wouldn´t certainly have minded to meet Manchas after that again. And the cosplay event went as well as planned. We took part in the contest, and won fair and square. All six of us won free shopping coupons to the Zootopia galleria, and plenty of them. "You know Judy, maybe you were right that I too should try out cosplaying more often", Bonnie laughed and patted her daughter in the back. "You really should, Mom", she nodded. "I wish my dear Bogo could see us now", Gazelle said enthusiastically. We had such a great time there. From taking photos together to board games, it was a ton of fun. And when it was all over, we all walked home contently, promising to see each other again whenever an event like this would happen. But a surprise was waiting for me on my way home. As I was strolling through the streets, I noticed Manchas was there too. I was delighted to see him again. "Nice to see you again here. Thanks for the free car ride too, Manchas", I told him. "Ah, it was nothing. Always a pleasure to help such lovely ladies out whenever they need it", Manchas smiled warmly. I blushed a bit, as it seemed like he was a bit interested in me. "I´m Fabienne Growley. Pleased to meet you, Sir", I shook paws with him. He was surprised to discover who I was. "Fabienne Growley? Ah, you´re that lovely lady from the news! I can´t believe we meet face to face", the jaguar said eagerly. "The pleasure is all mine", I nodded. As we walked along, we chatted together for a long time. Manchas started to seem nicer and nicer the more we talked. He told me everything, from the time he was drugged and captured during the Nighthowler crisis to what his job is like. "Even though I work for Big, I still do my job loyally as just a simple driver, nothing more. He´s not even all that dangerous....unless you insult his family, as Mr.Wilde can prove", he told as we shared a hearty laugh. "Glad to see you´re alright after all the terrible things that happened during the crisis. I respect hard-working mammals like you very much that persevere even through the hardest of times", I told him. We genuinely started to enjoy each other´s company already, even though it was only our second meeting. Manchas and I even exchanged phone numbers, and wished to meet again someday. As I had wished him a nice day and arrived back at my doorstep, I felt like something in me was changing. I had found that special kind of friendship in my life that was destined to become something more. Time went on. Manchas and I only got friendlier together. During weekends, we often shared coffee in local cafes in the city, and texted each other how we had been doing at work. Whenever either of us needed help, we also gave it to each other. I had never met anyone who had gotten along with me this well. All my other friends had noticed this too, and helped our friendship. Nick and Judy thought that our relationship reminded them a lot of how theirs were before they started dating, and in their opinion Manchas seemed like the right one for me. Trusting their word, I started to see it myself too. From those days on, I spent most of my free time with him. We were almost inseparable, despite our different jobs. I wanted to know more and more about him, even though we were close friends already. Then, it happened one day. He asked me out. It totally took me by surprise. I had dated nobody before, and I didn´t expect it to happen so soon. However, Manchas was such a good and close friend to me already, so it made sense to me. I wanted to get closer to him. Our date took place in a theater, where we would be seeing a stage play version of The Merchant of Marshlands. I had heard great praise of that play, and since Manchas was a stage person too, we figured it´d be a fitting spot for a date. Near the theater, I could see him already in his tux as I approached, wearing my fine emerald green evening dress. I hadn´t worn that for a long time. "You´re looking beautiful tonight, Fabienne", Manchas bowed chivalrously. Such a gentlecat he indeed was. "Thanks, Mr. Manchas. Ah, I can´t wait to see the play", I said as we went in. After leaving the coats in the rack, we entered the hall to see the play. It was just as good as we expected, with talented actors and great music. As we watched the show, I could see how Manchas eyed on me gently. Even though he was a big strong predator, he still had a very friendly-looking smile on his face when I was in his company. It really showed in his personality too whenever we hanged out. When it was time for admissions, we went to the café in the theater building, where we shared a friendly chat while eating. I had a couple of crepes while he ate some churros. Manchas told me all about his life, how he too was shunned often in his childhood for being a predator, even though he was good in school and a very nice person even then. Still, like with the Nighthowler crisis, he still tried to stay stoong and just kept following his own path. "My life got better eventually when Big gave me a job, and I befriended his florist, Emmitt. Yet even then, I felt like something special was missing from my life. Now that I´ve found the best friend I´ve ever had in my life, it seems like that search is over", he admitted, looking at me with respect. In my heart, I could feel that it was the same way with me. Now that things had taken a turn for the better in the life of this jaguar, as his closest friend I wanted to make sure he wouldn´t have to face any of those troubles again. Or if he would, I´d be by his side and helping him the best way I could. "I too have found the best friend...or maybe something more", I smiled a bit flirtatiously at him. He blushed heavily, as he could see what I was up to. "Something more indeed", he nodded. When the admission ended, we went to see the rest of the play together. After one and a half hours, it ended at last and we were ready to head for home. "Such a great play, wasn´t it?" I said as Manchas escorted me by my paw. "Certainly. No wonder the critics raved about it on the magazines", The jaguar said. The theater was so close to my home that Manchas didn´t need to drive me there. A little stroll was just enough for us before he´d drive home. From the way he looked at me during our walk, I could see how he was content, but a little nervous too. Through him, I could see how he had done his best to make this date as wonderful as possible. And he had succeeded. "Thanks for the night in the theater. It was surely a great first date with you, I wouldn´t mind another one in the future", I told him, getting closer to him. Manchas felt like his heart jumped. "You really mean that?" he asked. "Yes. There´s no doubt about it after this", I said. Without hesitation, I wrapped my tail around him flirtatiously and gave him our very first kiss. He blushed again, but closed his eyes in bliss. I hadn´t seen him look this happy before. The experience of kissing him felt blissful to me too, it made me almost purr "Thanks for the wonderful date too, kitty", he said when we were approaching my home. "See you soon again!" I waved as I left him. He too waved at me before going back to his car. That was the night when an unexpected encounter started something wonderful in my life. Category:Manbienne stories Category:Stories from Fabienne Growley's POV Category:POV stories Category:Fabienne Growley/Manchas fics Category:Date stories Category:Cosplay stories Category:Fanon Category:Stories Category:Stories where Bogzelle is mentioned Category:Stories where WildeHopps is referenced but not the main focus Category:Beginning of romance stories